Tua and the Elephant–and Five Lucky Winners

Next month brings the publication of a an already-starred new novel, Tua and theElephant, written by R.P. Harris and illustrated by Taeeun Yoo.

Tua is the story of a ten-year-old girl living in Thailand, who meets an unusual and wise elephant chained up in the market. The elephant is being used as tourist bait by two mahouts, or elephant drivers. Tua, whose name means “peanut” in the Thai language, decides she must rescue it and see it safely to an elephant preserve.

A starred review in Kirkus says:

“Will Tua be successful in getting Pohn Pohn into the preserve? For a book aimed at middle graders, kudos on three fronts: providing a child’s-eye view of Thailand with foreign words to be decoded in context, creating a strong connection between the elephant and the girl, and using a simple vocabulary to introduce the complex issue of poaching. Yoo’s multiple illustrations, done in charcoal and linoleum block print, catapult the story even higher. Foreign yet familiar, the action is often humorous and reinforces the sweet bond between pachyderm and “peanut”. A rousing adventure that introduces the issue of elephant trafficking in a gentle and appropriate way.”

We’re giving away five copies of this lovely, moving novel. For a chance to win, please leave your comment below. (As for me, I’m pairing this with Katherine Applegate’s wonderful new The One and Only Ivan when I recommend books to young animal/environment lovers!)

AND WHILE YOU’RE HERE: Eyes left. See that link to enter our latest free-Skype-giveaway? CLICK for the chance to win a visit with the wonderful Erica Pearl.

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Tricia is the author of many books for middle grade, most recently "Every Single Second" (HarperCollins) and the third book in the Cody series, "Cody and the Rules of Life" (Candlewick Press). A frequent speaker at schools, libraries, and conferences, she lives in Cleveland OH. You can find out more about her and her work at www.triciaspringstubb.com

Scholastic Focus is the new imprint from Scholastic publishing that will focus on narrative nonfiction for middle grade and young adult readers. The line plans to publish between six and nine new hardcover titles annual, by both debut and established authors, as well as reissue back listed paperbacks.

Wordplay is a new two-day book festival coming to Minnesota next year. The festival plans to bring more than 100 authors, including children’s writers, to the Twin Cities in May. Organizers envision a fresh approach to their celebration of words: offbeat events like yoga with the authors, and lots of parties. No participating authors have been announced yet.

Author Jacqueline Woodson has been named the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. She will be officially inaugurated at the Library of Congress on Tuesday, January 9, 2018. Her job as ambassador is to raise national awareness of “the importance of young people’s literature as it relates to lifelong literacy, education and the development and betterment of the lives of young people.” (from the Library of Congress web site.)

December 14, 2017

This August, author James Baldwin’s Little Man, Little Man, will be back on bookshelves. The book is the only children’s story ever written by the acclaimed novelist, essayist, playwright, and civil rights activist. Originally released in 1976, it went out of print quickly. Little Man, Little Man will be reissued by Duke University Press, complete with original illustrations. It also features a forward by Baldwin’s nephew, who was the inspiration for the story’s main character, T.J.

World Read Aloud Day is coming! Mark your calendars for February 1, 2018. The goal? Read out loud together, share our stories, and raise our voices in support of reading and writing as a basic human right. Use #WorldReadAloudDay to share and gather ideas for reading to your community.

October 18, 2017

#USVIPubFund is live and chock full of critiques, consultations, and ARC giveaways. What is it? An auction offered by publishing professionals, editors, agents, and authors, to provide hurricane disaster relief to the hard-hit US Virgin Islands. Auction proceeds go to the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands. The auction closes Thursday at 9pm Eastern on Thursday, October 19.

October 4, 2017

#PubforPR is the hurricane relief fundraiser spearheaded by authors, agents, and publishers to help Puerto Rico recover from the devastation of Hurricane Maria. All funds raised by the online auction will go to the organizations Unidos por Puerto Rico and ConPRmetidos, both of which are on the island. More than 100 authors, agents, illustrators, and editors have offered services. Act now — the auction closes on October 5.

September 20, 2017

New York Comic Con in the library! On October 5, this major convention will partner with the New York Public Library to offer programming on comics and graphic novels for librarians and teachers. A sampling of the session includes this talk on creating stories with positive female characters: Girl Power Comics: Middle Grade Fiction for Girls and Boys,

August 30, 2017

Hurricane Harvey Book Club: A teacher from Katy, Texas started a Facebook group book club to help support and bring joy to children who have been affected by Hurricane Harvey. So far the group has nearly 56,000 members. They’re also on Twitter: @HHarveyBookClub. The club is busy — they’ve also spearheaded a fundraising campaign to sell t-shirts. Proceeds go toward replacing books in Texas teachers’ classroom libraries destroyed by the floods. So far, they’ve raised nearly $15,000.

Literary community pitches in for Hurricane Harvey Relief: Kate Messner’s KidLitCares is pitching in with an auction to help victims of Hurricane Harvey, which is still dumping rain on flood-ravaged Texas and Louisiana. More than 200 authors, agents, and editors have donated services; all proceeds go to fund Red Cross relief efforts. The auction runs until September 7, 2017. NOTE: When you click on the link, be patient. The site has been overwhelmed and crashes; if you can’t get in, try again later. It’s worth it. Among the many donors: Chelsea Clinton.

August 25, 2017

Congratulations to MUF blogger Jonathan Rosen on his debut this month, NIGHT OF THE LIVING CUDDLE BUNNIES. Check out our interview with him here, and sign up with the Rafflecopter to get your own free copy of Jonathan’s book.

In case you missed it, in July the New Yorker published this retrospective on the 50th anniversary of FROM THE MIXED UP FILES OF BASIL E. FRANKWEILER.

August 16, 2017

The American Library Association has released a statement condemning racism and the recent violence in Charlottesville. “The ALA supports voices of hope as such actions mirror the library community’s efforts to abolish bigotry and cultural invisibility,” said ALA President Jim Neal.

Teachers searching for help to start the conversation about Charlottesville with their students have a new resource: #CharlottesvilleCurriculum. Melinda Anderson, a contributing writer for The Atlantic who covers education and race, created the Twitter hashtag to share websites, videos, and other documents to use in class. One of the resources listed on the hashtag includes this book list from the National Network of State Teachers of the Year.

August 9, 2017

We have a winner for the Rafflecopter giveaway of the debut novel KARMA KHULLAR’S MUSTACHE!

Thanks, Jennifer B., and happy reading!

August 3, 2017

The popular MY WEIRD SCHOOL series by Dan Gutman also has fun games to go along. Enter this Rafflecopter for a chance to win a free copy! Giveaway ends on August 8.

MG Author Jason Reynolds, author of AS BRAVE AS YOU, will be the official spokesperson for Indies First. This is the national campaign that supports independent bookstores, and will bring together authors, readers, and publishers at events across the country. Indies First will be held on November 25.

June 28, 2017

Children’s Book Sales: Great news for readers and writers alike – books sales in children’s fiction are on the rise. Not by a lot, only 2% this month over this time last year, but we’ll take it as a sign people are reading. The larger increase is in nonfiction, by 9%. Leading the pack: Chelsea Clinton’s SHE PERSISTED, with over 13,000 copies sold.

Congratulations! Lots of great news from MUF authors. This month, Laurie J. Edwards w/a Rachel J. Good’s Book 3 in the Sisters & Friends Amish series, GIFT FROM ABOVE (YA/Adult) went on sale, as did Julie K. Rubini’s VIRGINIA HAMILTON: AMERICA’S STORYTELLER (Ohio University Press/Biographies for Young Readers). Next month, we get Beth McMullen’s MRS. SMITH’S SPY SCHOOL FOR GIRLS (S&S/Aladdin).

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From the Mixed-Up Files is the group blog of middle-grade authors celebrating books for middle-grade readers. For anyone with a passion for children’s literature—teachers, librarians, parents, kids, writers, industry professionals— we offer regularly updated book lists organized by unique categories, author interviews, market news, and a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a children's book from writing to publishing to promoting.